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United States Patent |
6,099,461
|
Maresch
,   et al.
|
August 8, 2000
|
Device for humidifying the useful space of a climatic test cabinet
Abstract
A climatic cabinet such as a climatic test cabinet or gassing incubator
includes a housing bounding a useful space. The useful space communicates
with the exterior through a front opening. The housing includes a floor
having a back wall and opposing sidewalls upstanding therefrom. The floor
is inclined at least at the front opening so as to slope down from the
front opening towards the back wall. The floor bounds a trough configured
to retain water remote from the front opening.
Inventors:
|
Maresch; Lothar (Mombris, DE);
Hessler; Egon (Hasselroth, DE)
|
Assignee:
|
Kendro Laboratory Products GmbH (Hanau, DE)
|
Appl. No.:
|
179661 |
Filed:
|
October 27, 1998 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Oct 28, 1997[DE] | 197 47 498 |
Current U.S. Class: |
600/22 |
Intern'l Class: |
A61G 011/00 |
Field of Search: |
600/21-22
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
4923816 | May., 1990 | Heeg et al. | 425/284.
|
5242375 | Sep., 1993 | McDonough | 600/22.
|
Foreign Patent Documents |
1 027 368 | Oct., 1956 | DE.
| |
7633120 | Feb., 1977 | DE.
| |
38 15 528 | Aug., 1989 | DE.
| |
Other References
Abstract of Japanese Patent Publication No. 06347107, published Dec. 20,
1994.
|
Primary Examiner: Lacyk; John P.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Workman, Nydegger & Seeley
Claims
What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent
is:
1. A component of a climatic cabinet comprising a housing bounding a useful
space and having a front opening, the housing including a floor having a
back wall and opposing sidewalls upstanding therefrom, the floor being
inclined at least at the front opening to slope down from the front
opening and forming a trough configured to retain water remote from the
front opening, markings being formed on the floor to determine how much
water is in the trough.
2. A component of a climatic cabinet as recited in claim 1, wherein the
floor is inclined at an angle in a range between about 2.degree. to about
10.degree. relative to the horizontal.
3. A component of a climatic cabinet as recited in claim 1, wherein the
trough is formed adjacent to the back wall.
4. A component of a climatic cabinet as recited in claim 1, wherein the
housing comprises:
an outside housing bounding a compartment; and
an inside housing disposed within the compartment of the outside housing;
the inside housing bounding the useful space.
5. A component of a climatic cabinet as recited in claim 1, wherein the
floor is substantially flat and is inclined at a substantially constant
angle from the opening to the back wall.
6. A climatic cabinet comprising:
a housing as recited in claim 1, and
a heating element positioned adjacent to the trough.
7. A component of a climatic cabinet comprising a housing bounding a useful
space and having a front opening, the housing including a floor having a
back wall and opposing sidewalls upstanding therefrom, the floor being
inclined to slope down from the opening to the back wall so that a trough
configured to retain water is formed adjacent to the back wall, markings
being formed on the floor to determine how much water is in the trough.
8. A component of a climatic cabinet as recited in claim 7, wherein the
floor is inclined at an angle in a range between about 2.degree. to about
10.degree. relative to the horizontal.
9. A component of a climatic cabinet as recited in claim 7, wherein the
housing comprises:
an outside housing bounding a compartment; and
an inside housing bounding the useful space and being disposed within the
compartment of the outside housing, the inside housing having the floor
with the back wall and opposing sidewalls upstanding therefrom.
10. A component of a climatic cabinet as recited in claim 7, wherein the
floor is inclined at a substantially constant angle from the opening to
the back wall.
11. A climatic cabinet comprising:
a housing as recited in claim 1, and
a heating element positioned adjacent to the trough.
12. A component of a climatic cabinet as recited in claim 7, wherein the
floor, back wall, and opposing side walls are formed as an integral unit.
13. A component of a climatic cabinet as recited in claim 7, wherein the
floor has a substantially flat top surface adjacent to the opening.
14. A climatic cabinet comprising:
(a) an outside housing having a substantially flat floor and bounding a
compartment, the compartment communicating with the exterior through a
front opening;
(b) an inside housing disposed within the compartment of the outside
housing, the inside housing having a front opening aligned with the front
opening of the outside housing and communicating with the exterior, the
housing including a floor, having a back wall and opposing sidewalls
upstanding therefrom, the floor being inclined to slope down from the
opening toward the back wall so that a trough configured to retain water
is formed adjacent to the back wall; and
(c) a heating element positioned between the outer housing and the inner
housing below the trough.
15. A climatic cabinet as recited in claim 14, wherein the floor of the
inside housing is inclined at an angle in a range between about 2.degree.
to about 10.degree. relative to the floor of the outside housing.
16. A climatic cabinet as recited in claim 14, further comprising markings
being formed on the floor of the inside housing to determine how much
water is in the trough.
17. A climatic cabinet as recited in claim 14, wherein the floor of the
inside housing is inclined at a substantially constant angle from the
opening to the back wall.
18. A climatic cabinet as recited in claim 14, wherein the floor, back
wall, and opposing side walls of the inside housing are formed as an
integral unit.
Description
The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119 to
German Patent Application No. 197 47 498.5, filed Oct. 28, 1997, which is
incorporated herein by specific reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. The Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a device for humidifying the useful space of a
climatic test cabinet, especially a gassing incubator.
2. Present State of the Art
Various types of humidifying devices are used to humidify the air in the
useful space of climatic test cabinets or gassing incubators. According to
one type, water from a water supply outside the useful space is vaporized
and the aerosol is fed into the useful space. Another way of humidifying
the air in the useful space is by arranging a water container directly in
the useful space and evaporating the water therein. Normally for this
purpose a separately removable water trough is arranged on the floor of
the useful space and heated with a suitable heating device. The heating
element can be arranged directly in the water bath or in the immediate
vicinity of the water bath. Alternatively, the useful space is equipped
with a trough-shaped bottom area.
For example, a humidifying or steam sterilization device according to the
last-mentioned principle is known from DE-AS 10 27 368. This patent
describes a sterilization cabinet having a useful space with a floor area
in the form of a trough which is filled with water to be evaporated. The
water is connected with an external water supply container via a feed and
drain system. Toward the door of the sterilization cabinet, the trough is
bordered by a wall-like vertical plate.
A gassing incubator is also known from DE 38 15 528 which is also equipped
with a water-filled trough on the floor of the useful space or with a
floor area of the useful space in the form of a trough, which is intended
to humidify the useful space. If an inserted rectangular trough is used,
then it lies flat on the floor of the useful space and is bordered on all
four sides by vertical side walls which prevent the water flowing out.
In the case when the floor of the useful space is shaped like a trough, a
cross-strip is arranged in the lower part of the opening of the gassing
incubator's useful space. This design makes it quite difficult to clean
the water container in the floor area of the useful space, especially in
the front area pointing toward the opening of the useful space. This is
because the front cross-strip makes the area lying directly behind it only
poorly accessible for inspection and for introducing cleaning materials,
such as, for example cleaning cloths.
When a separate removable trough is used with a level floor and vertical
side walls all around it, there is the further disadvantage that
condensation forms outside the trough. Precisely in the front area of the
useful space near the opening, the water bath which projects into this
area encourages the humidity of the outside air entering at the opening of
the useful space to condense outside on the side walls of the trough. The
so-called humidity recovery time, which is the time required after the
gassing incubator is opened until the humidity values have restabilized,
is also substantially longer for a humidifying device with a removable
trough. This is because such designs provide relatively poor heat transfer
from the heating device to the water bath compared to a useful space with
a built-in trough-shaped floor area.
OBJECTS AND BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Starting from the existing state of the art which has been presented, the
present invention is based on the task of specifying a device for
humidifying the useful space of a climatic test cabinet, especially a
gassing incubator, which allows optimal cleaning of the water container to
reduce the danger of contamination, which excludes, or at least reduces,
the danger of condensation outside the water container, and which can be
produced economically.
This task is solved by giving the useful space an inclined floor surface,
at least in the area of the opening of the useful space. The higher area
of the floor surface is oriented toward the opening of the useful space,
without being bordered by a side wall. The lower area of the floor surface
is oriented toward the back of the useful space or connecting directly
with the back.
This design allows the humidifying device to be easily cleaned from the
opening of the useful space. The cleaning material can be introduced on
the inclined floor surface which drops toward the back in the useful space
of the climatic test cabinet or gassing incubator. Doing away with a front
vertical side wall or cross-strip makes possible the immediate recognition
and easy removal of contaminants even on the front part of the humidifying
device according to the invention. The depth of the water bath increases
in the direction toward the back wall of the useful space due to the
inclination of the floor of the useful space. Therefore, the front area of
the humidifying device oriented toward the opening of the useful space
will have no water at all or only a few millimeters of water standing in
it, depending on how full it is.
The coldest area of the useful space for the formation of condensation is
about 10 cm above the water bath on the back wall of the useful space. The
condensed water, for example from the outside air entering when the useful
space is opened, preferentially condenses at the coldest area and
immediately flows from there into the water bath.
The invention also provides a cost advantage to the manufacturer of
climatic test cabinets and gassing incubators by eliminating the otherwise
commonly used front perpendicular side wall or cross-strip in the lower
area of the opening of the useful space.
It is expedient for the inclined floor surface of the useful space of a
climatic test cabinet or gassing incubator to have an incline of 2.degree.
to 10.degree..
To give an approximate indication of the amount of water in the humidifying
device, the inclined floor surface of the useful space has markings in its
higher area. For example, the markings can be chiseled or stamped in the
floor surface or they can be small, knob-like elevations or bulges on the
floor surface or on one of several of the three side walls.
The following description of the embodiment of the invention uses the
drawings to provide more details and features of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order that the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages
and objects of the invention are obtained, a more particular description
of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to
specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended
drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical
embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be
limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with
additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying
drawings in which:
FIG. 1 shows a side view of the useful space of a gassing incubator having
an inclined floor surface;
FIGS. 1a and 1b show the enlarged sections from FIG. 1 with bulge-like
impressions on the floor surface.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a simple embodiment of the humidifying device according to the
present invention. It shows in side view how the useful space or inside
housing, in a known embodiment, is inserted at an incline in the outside
housing 2 of an incubator, which is used, for example, in medical or
biological research. Here the lower area of the useful space 1 serves as a
trough with an inclined floor surface 3 to hold water, the inclination
being in the direction of the back wall 4 of the useful space 1 or the
incubator. In this case the angle of inclination .alpha. is 3.degree.. In
one example, the inside dimensions of the useful space 1 are 470 mm
(width), 530 mm (depth), and 607 (height). As a result, the maximum amount
of water useful space 1 can be filled with is 3 liters. The heating
elements 9 needed to promote water evaporation are arranged below the
floor surface 3 and in the lower area, outside the useful space 1.
The inclined floor surface 3 in the front area oriented toward the opening
5 of the useful space 1 is not bordered by a vertical side wall or
cross-strip, so that it is freely accessible and visible from opening 5 of
useful space 1. In this way no "dead angle" remains for cleaning.
The condensation of water outside this humidifying device is also
practically impossible. Water which might come from the outside air (when
the useful space is opened) is condensed only on the water bath itself or
on the back wall 4 of the useful space 1 a short distance above the water
bath, and not, for instance, outside on a cross-strip.
In order to give the operators a rough idea about the amount of water to
fill into useful space 1, the inclined floor surface 3 has markings 6 in
the form of a bulge-like impression 6' (about 3 to 5 mm in height). These
bulge-like impression 6' are positioned roughly in the middle and near the
opening 5 of the useful space 1. The bulge-like impression 6' can be made
over the entire useful space or width of the wall.
FIGS. 1a and 1b show these stamps 6' as enlargements corresponding to the
original size.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without
departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described
embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and
not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by
the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes
which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are
to be embraced within their scope.
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